Shipwreck HMS Cricket

The shipwreck HMS Cricket is a diving spot in Cyprus, off Larnaca province and it attracts many diving enthusiasts every year.

An old British navy warship found 27 meters below sea level, the shipwreck HMS Cricket is one the most exciting underwater explorations. The visibility reaches 25 meters and the divers swim in the ship, passing through hatches and doors, and can also swim below it, reaching a maximum depth of 33 meters. The sandy seabed has a slope below the wreck.

The wreck is now home to groupers, lobsters and other big fishes and mollusks. The ship was constructed in 1915 and it was a small gunboat, mainly used for patrols, sail in rivers and coastal surveillances. It took part in the 1 st World War as part of the fleet that was operating in Tigris and Euphrates, in the Russian Civil operating mainly in Northern Dvina River and it was also used in the 2 nd World War as part of the Mediterranean fleet. In 1942, after it hit a mine outside Egypt, it was decommissioned and docked at Larnaca bay. Next it was used by the British air force during military exercises until it sunk in 1947 due to bad weather conditions.

Access to the Shipwreck is by boat, 10 minutes away from the small port of Xylophagos, while diving requires a certificate of open waters (OW).